Indio Riverside County Fair: Magic Carpet Stage (#1467)

The “Magic Carpet” stage where “Aladdin and the Magic Lamp (And Ring)” is performed weekend nights by a local cast and crew.

The history of Middle-Eastern symbolism in the eastern Coachella Valley (Palm Springs is in the western portion of the valley) dates back (somewhat) to the transplanting of date palms to the valley from Algeria in the early 1900’s. The success of the date groves, combined with the success of the area for tourism, resulted in the start of a date festival in 1921 and the move to these fairgrounds in 1940. Though dates were considered to be a Middle-Eastern crop, the initial festivals had a cowboy theme, not a Middle-Eastern theme. It wasn’t until just after WWII that a manager of the festival decided to introduce an “Arabian Nights” theme to the festival – and it stuck.

See:
www.datefest.org/Attractions/Arabian-Nights-Musical-Pageant
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverside_County_Fair_and_National_Date_Festival